The following chart illustrates a major cause of the world's problems. That problem simply put is that lenders extract far more money from circulation than they put into circulation leaving the economy short on the money needed to run the economy soundly. The economy is always trying to find the new money needed because it isn't there. This puts all sort of downward pressure on institutions and labor. (See the list at the end of this article for a more comprehensive list of negative consequences.) When money is loaned out it does not at the same time create the interest they will demand back in payment in addition to the principle. This creates expanding debt at an exponential rate over time. The result of this ongoing process is represented in the chart below. It demonstrates that eventually money in circulation runs out as the principle and interest payments in the aggregate exceed the money available to make payments. This cycle has happened time and time again as evidenced by the number of recessions and depression we have suffered. It was on hyper drive in the last 10 years as banks used leverage beyond any reasonable measure. This is a failed financial system. The irony is that it is bigger and more powerful than ever putting the world's economic and physical security, and our basic human rights, and the environment at extremely high risk. It will result in eventual total collapse at some point when the system has consumed all there is to consume, instead of just a recession or depression. The recessions and depressions seem to trigger some knee jerk reaction from politicians conditioned to put banks above all else who then institute austerity measures that erode rights and freedoms. This system needs to be scraped and rebuilt to work with the democratic system that values and aligns with sustainability, liberty and justice for all.

What are the Imperative Structural Systemic Components Necessary for Real and Honest Change?

Money or more correctly a money system is the most powerful arbiter of justice in the world. Depending on how it works it dictates our rights, and freedoms and quality of life regardless of what the political systems dictate. Money always takes precedence over people in the current money system because of its destructive system design and operation. We need a system that works for people not a system where people struggle to support a destructive system. We shouldn't have to work for the system the system needs to work for us to achieve desired enhanced human conditions.

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What are the structural components of western civilization that have failed and created the deteriorating quality of life for the vast majority of people? I'm not even talking about the other half of the planet that lives in poverty (3 billion people! This is simply an unfathomable crime to me.) Much of which is abject poverty and amounts to criminality. It shows the real failure of civilization to live up to its potential and even our most sacred creed of liberty and justice for ALL. I capitalize "all' because it is impossible for any reasonable thinking person to believe after armed with all the facts if they can get themselves freed up from the insanity of daily living to even seek those facts, that our public policies honestly account for ALL when it comes to justice of any kind especially economic justice. More appalling is that we pretend there is nothing we (our Leadership) can do about it -- that somehow changes will lead us toward totalitarianism. What a crock! We already live under a bizarre insidious inverted totalitarianism. Check out Sheldon S. Wolin's Book: Democracy Inc., Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism. Where he demonstrates the control as so many others have done in other books Like Thom Hartman's Unequal Protection, The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights. But then on a positive note you might want to take a look at a book by Bruce H. Lipton, Ph. D., And Steve Bhaerman called Spontaneous Evolution, Our Positive Future and a Way to get There from Here that discusses how evolution isn't necessarily a slow ongoing process but one where things lie dormant for long periods of time then spontaneously change to adapt to conditions. I guess there is evidence of this in nature. Their hope is that we could now apply that to today's political and environmental situations. Things really have changed for the worst in the last 50 years politically; economically and environmentally so the hope is there may be a catalyst to "spontaneously' change this course for the better. This would prove naysayers like me who think it's too late, wrong. I hope so. But I could see something like HR6550 being the real and honest catalyst for a spontaneous change like this. (Notice no one is talking about it. Rep. Dennis Kucinich - D, Ohio did have a piece on OEN about it here a week or so ago. I hope everyone saw it.)

Fredrick Bastiat said:

"A science of economics must be developed before a science of politics can be logically formulated. Essentially, economics is the science of determining whether the interests of human beings are harmonious or antagonistic. This must be known before a science of politics can be formulated to determine the proper functions of government.

Immediately following the development of a science of economics, and at the very beginning of the formulation of a science of politics, this all-important question must be answered: What is law? What ought it to be? What is its scope; its limits? Logically, at what point do the just powers of the legislator stop?

I do not hesitate to answer: Law is the common force organized to act as an obstacle of injustice . In short, law is justice ."

The economic system defines who you are; what you are as a civilization. It cannot be done alone politically. When you study this argument of Bastiat from a systems perspective it is hard to determine otherwise.

That could mean our founders inadvertently although it's more likely they couldn't agree on economic structure well enough to define it, left out a very important structural piece of creating a nation and should have had far more debate on economic truths starting with the definition of money and its circulation purposes, methods and value determination before they determined the political system (The constitution) they were trying to devise. Having defined economic components of the new nation would have given great perspective to those drafting the constitution and new insights into liberty and justice. In fact they this missing piece demonstrates the importance of economics and monetary systems as the foundation of civilization. This isn't about being money centered, materialistic or greedy, it recognizing that money is the most basic form of human interaction. It is not the only one obviously but it is the most fundamental economic one and therefore most imperative that it be well defined and understood. I'd submit by allowing economics, money, trade, and other economic truths like "are we creating a cooperative or an antagonistic nation at its core?' not to be strictly defined has caused most of the dysfunction the world sees today. Had we got this correct in the beginning its far more likely we'd be already living in a sustainable peaceful world or at least far more so.

How does this concern the environment? It has everything to do with the environment and the More Jobs are Not the Solution; the Earth Needs Fewerby Kristine Mattis article brings it to light so clearly. The economics of it in fact precede the "less jobs' mandate. I don't even think working less to spread work around is necessarily the answer if we keep the same underlying monetary system. The economic system is completely grounded in the monetary system which is the main dysfunction in the world today.

There is a lot of righteous frustration out there today. If you are like me you are impatient and a little befuddle why we aren't acting and there are many reasons including the purposeful deterrents to action by the power elite that have been well documented and what do we do to bring attention to the right systems at the right time. But as importantly to me is where. Where is the main pain point in all of this? Lesser actions toward solutions are futile if not aimed directly at the monetary issue. HR 6550 is aimed squarely at that system and would be the beginning of major progress toward sustainability and a more perfect economic system. Maybe promoting this is the answer to both what and where. I know I intend to try and keep bringing attention to this.

All this isn't to fault our founders too severely because after all they did appoint the responsibility of monetary affairs to congress. In Article 1 section 5 of the constitution. This power has been turned over to the Federal Reserve, in error. And it needs to be recovered to be operated by the public rather than private profit motive driven elites. The act properly gives congress the authority to coin (create) money and set its value. In many senses this is all they need but try wrestling that from the banker's hands.

I have worked in the IT industry for 30 years. I'm currently working as developer but had the opportunity in the past to manage a small IT software development group in a critical health care application. As such I have become familiar with systems (more...)